


You Make Your Family Where You Make Your Home

by Endlessnotebooks



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers as family, Gen, He's not so terrible in this, Howard is an okay dad, I feel like that's a public school standard experience, Kid Fic, Maria is quite a bit younger than in canon to make up for it, Maria's a good mom, Steve Rogers isn't the best role model in the world, Tony sees Steve and Bucky as super cool uncles, Tony was born in like 1990, and others are creepy, but like, child!Tony, she and Howard love each other, some suck, teachers aren't always there for you, young Tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-02 03:05:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14535303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endlessnotebooks/pseuds/Endlessnotebooks
Summary: Howard found Steve just before Tony was born, and it changes the way Tony grows up. He has a couple more people around him looking out for him, instead of just a distant father. Instead of trying to make a dead man proud, he finds himself trying to live up to an image of his heroes, while they just want him to be happy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a post by @tonystarktogo on Tumblr.

Howard had too much going on, he shouldn’t have to fly up to the god-damn Arctic for what was going to be another false alarm. He had given up on Steve sometime after Peggy’s Alzheimer’s started getting worse. She had been what kept the search going. He couldn’t look for Steve for himself – after a while, it got too hard. Telling himself he was searching to bring Peggy some peace at least took some of the sting out when he had failure after failure. It made him keeping going when he wanted stop, because he couldn’t let that woman down.

But what good would finding the man be if the woman he was looking for wasn’t even able to remember him?

Howard approached the group of men congregated around a hole in the ice. “Alright, lads. Let’s finish this up so I can get home. Maria’s going to give birth any day now, and I’d like to be home when she does.”

“Boss, we’ve been working through the night…

“You’re going to want to see this.”

Howard leaned over, and couldn’t stop the words from falling through his lips.

“Holy shit.”

* * *

They were doing what they could to help thaw the man slowly and safely, but until then Howard insisted he be kept frozen.

_I don’t want this fucked up._

Meanwhile, Maria was getting steadily closer to giving birth, and it was racking up Howard’s nerves. He was about to be a _dad._ How was he supposed to handle that? How was he supposed to have a kid and not fuck them up?

One of his interns put a file on his desk. “We think we’ve got a solution, sir.”

Howard skimmed it. He liked what he saw.

“Go ahead with it. As soon as it’s done have him transferred to my home.”

“Yes, sir.” The intern pulled the files together.

“And Todd?” That was the kid’s name.

“Yes, sir?” There was something about watching an intern light up from recognition. Just the fact someone knew them seemed to make them shine – these colleges needed to give their kids more meddle. Give them more spunk.

“Good job. You’ve got a job here if you want it.”

“I was part of a team, sir…”

“Are there any other interns on the team?”

“We all are, sir.”

“Why is there a team full of interns?” Todd opened his mouth to respond. “You know what, nevermind. I don’t care. Go get your friends.”

“Yes, sir.”

Twenty minutes later he had six shaky interns sitting in front of him.

“You guys came up with this plan?”

The group looked between each other. No one wanted to take credit.

“Who said that keeping the room temperature low could reduce the chances of him going into shock?”

A young woman raised her hand. She stood straight, wore a high-necked blouse and a long skirt. Her hair was pulled sternly to her neck.  

“Name?”

“Chana. Chana Miller.”

“Nice to meet you, Chana. Howard Stark.” He gestured for a hand shake, backing off when she eyed his hand. “Alright, no hand shake.”

He changed back to the group before pulling out the file. “What about this? Who came up with the idea to transfer him to a place with people or things he would recognize?”

Todd raised his hand.

“Alright. I could go through this whole proposal. I could keep you here all night, if I wanted, but I’m not going to. The point I hope I’ve made, is that if you made it as a team, you claim it as a team, and you claim it proudly.

“Your future here will be a lot harder if you don’t proudly claim your work. Even your mistakes are valuable, as long as you’ve been writing everything down so you know how to fix it.”

“Our… future?” Chana was pulling at hem of her shirt. A nervous tic, but she wasn’t in SHIELD. She didn’t need to care.

“Yeah, your future. You’re all hired. As of right now, your schedules will be built around your classes. Submit them to me each semester, as well as your grades. The company will comp anything that’s an A, whatever percentage below an A you’ve got, you pay.”

“Sir?” Chana and Todd were shocked, not to mention their team.

“You heard me. Have your class schedules on my desk tomorrow morning. You’ve got a week to get your current grades in to me. This semester will be fully comped, but you’re going to be responsible for anything below an A from here on out.”

There were various ‘thank you’s uttered from the team in front of him.

“Let me know what days you’ll want off well in advance and I’ll accommodate as best I can. I can’t promise you’ll always get them, but you’ll get at least part of the requested time, no matter the length. There’s going to be more to discuss – salaries, benefits, etc. You’ll get a hiring package from someone in HR sometime in the next few weeks. Understood?”

“Understood!”

“Now go get that plan in gear. I want this man thawed by the end of the week!”

* * *

The day he got the call about Steve being successfully thawed, he was nowhere near his home. Instead, he was standing next to his wife, his son in her arms, preparing to take them both home.

When he got back, Chana and Todd had left a simple note on the otherwise clean counter.

_Mr. Stark,_

_It was a success. He’s in the guest room you told us about last week._

_Congratulations on the kid! Mazal Tov!_

_-Todd and Chana_

_P.S. The keys you lent us are on the hook by the fridge. -Todd_

_P.P.S. I brought some of my mother’s tscholent and put it in your fridge. Warm it up on the stove and serve with bread or rice. I hope your family enjoys! -Chana_

Yeah. Those kids and their team were shaping up to be one of the best hiring decisions he had ever made. Attached was a proposal for a proposed physical therapy routine, in case the man needed it. _(Lily thought this might be helpful! He’s been in ice for over 50 years, after all!)_

Looking to the closed guest room door, Howard helped his wife to their room just down the hall. Tony’s nursery was between the two, and after Maria was laying down, Howard set their son in his crib. Things were looking up, and he couldn’t be happier.


	2. You've Got Time To Get Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony wants to draw something special for his mother, but he can't seem to get it right...

Anthony “Tony” Stark didn’t mind his dad, really.

He just wasn’t as cool as his Uncle Steve. Uncle Steve was big and strong and he could cook and draw and run really far _and_ really fast. And Uncle Steve came home before his bed time every night and made sure to play with him while his mom was reading or cooking dinner! His dad always got home really late, and was telling Tony he had to go to bed…

But that didn’t matter when Uncle Steve was here to keep him company! Right?

For right now, he decided to put the question on the back burner while trying to draw a picture of his mom for her birthday. He found time flying by, but at the same time, he couldn’t get the drawing to look right.

Suddenly, there was a hand on his back. “Hey, Bud, what’re you doing?”

“Don’t look! It’s not done yet!”

Steve laughed. “Are you sure? Maybe I could help…”

Tony looked at his paper. He didn’t like how it looked, but if Steve was offering help, did that mean it was bad?

“I… I don’t want help.”

Steve looked him in the eye. “Are you sure?”

“It’s gonna look great!”

“I’m sure it will, if you’re working so hard on it.” Steve grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. “Mind if I join you?”

Tony glanced at the paper. His uncle was such a good artist… If he started drawing he would blow Tony out of the water in seconds. But, at the same time, Steve was here, and was willing to spend time with him. Willing to sit with him without him asking.

“Sure, I guess.”

Steve smiled at him as he sat next to him. His pencil started scratching across the paper.

Tony had to resist the urge to watch his Uncle Steve draw. He was successful, until he glanced the paper.

Steve was drawing Tony, hunched over a piece of paper, a smaller and less detailed version of his drawing on the paper within the drawing.

It was so lifelike…

Tony glanced at his paper. His picture barely looked like his mom. It was filled with mistakes, and what was worse was he didn’t know how to fix them.

He felt himself tearing up. He hid his face behind his arm, simultaneously blocking Steve’s drawing from view. He sniffled a bit, hoping his uncle didn’t hear.

Of course he wouldn’t be so lucky.

“Hey, hey.” Steve had pushed his drawing out of view, turning towards Tony. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Steve leaned down, his head on his arm. “You sure? I find there’s usually something wrong when I’m sniffling.”

“I’m fine!” Tony pushed his drawing away. “Leave me alone!”

Steve stopped the drawing from flying off the table, flattening out some of the wrinkles as best he could.

“Tony…”

“Why do you have to be so good at this art crap!”

“Language!” Steve shook his head. “Tony, I’ve been drawing since I was your age. I picked up some tricks over the years.”

“But I tried so long! I worked so hard on this!”

“And it looks great! It’s your mom, right?”

“How could you tell? She looks nothing like that!”

Steve pointed at the drawing. “You drew her earrings really well. And she always wears these blazers, doesn’t she?”

Tony nodded. “But it still doesn’t look like her.”

“Tony, you’re six. You can’t expect a perfect drawing when you’ve barely started. Besides,” Steve pulled his drawing over. “I made your hair too fluffy.”

Tony laughed. Steve was right. His hair had been cut really short two weeks ago, and wasn’t nearly that fluffy anymore. “Okay.”

“And look, I didn’t draw your t-shirt right, either!”

Tony saw it now. Steve’s drawing wasn’t perfect. “Well how’d you get so good?”

“Practice.” Steve looked down at the paper. “Tell you what, let’s write the date on this, and you keep practicing. This time next year, you can try redrawing it. Sound like a plan?”

“Why would I draw something I already drew?”

“To see how you improved.”

Tony’s eyes lit up. “You really think I’ll get better?!”

Steve laughed as Tony stood on his chair. “Yeah, I really do. If you keep practicing, that is…”

“I will! I promise, Uncle Steve! I promise I will!”

* * *

One year later, and Tony was still frustrated with his drawing. Steve looked at the drawing of Maria before pulling out the old one.

“Look at that, you’re making progress!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These will be short chapters, at least for a while. I have a rough outline of a plot, but I have nothing solid yet. Until then, these'll be short and sweet little chapters about Tony growing up with cool uncles (Bucky's coming in the next chapter or two, I promise).


	3. Friends and Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve sees Bucky for the first time, and Howard will be damned if that man throws himself into a tunnel-vision spiral trying to bring Bucky back. Instead, he's going to make him take a break, putting some of his best interns on the project.

Howard had insisted Steve stay with him while he got acquainted to the modern era, and somewhere along the line he had just ended up living with the man and his family. Tony got attached, even as an infant, and Maria liked having the spare set of hands around the house, and Steve was more than willing to help Howard with his work with SHIELD.

That work was what led him here, though, staring down the barrel of a gun into his best friends’ eyes.

“Who. Is. Bucky?”

Steve had pushed Howard out of the way before trying to get through to the man in front of him.

“You’re Bucky!”

The man scowled, pistol-whipping Steve across the cheek.

Steve coughed a bit as a foot connected with his chest. The wind had been knocked out of him, and he kept coughing as he stood up, trying to fight back against the pain to get through to this man in front of him.

Steve had lost track of Howard, but he still had Bucky’s attention. Whoever it was that was moving the body, Bucky had to be in there.

After all, he had frozen and was watching Steve carefully.

Steve stood up, lifted his hands, and prepared to fight.

“Who are you?”

The man’s voice – Bucky’s voice – was shaking.

“I’m just a kid from Brooklyn. And I could do this all day.”

Bucky seemed to be shining through, even if here and now he saw Steve merely as a mission. “Who are you?”

Steve shook his head. “Buck…”

* * *

He was the Winter Soldier. He wasn’t allowed to have emotion. He didn’t have memories.

He wasn’t a he, he was an it.

But here was this man, and suddenly he saw him short and thin and coughing. Suddenly he felt the cold in his shoes and in his shoulders as he threw the only other blanket in the apartment over the smaller version of the blond man to keep him from getting sick.

But here he was, facing someone he could see in his mind. Someone he could remember skinning his knees and giving his mother a heart attack. He could see a kid that would fight for people he barely knew just because it was right.

He was terrified to say the name. He was terrified that he would be admitting it, admitting that he was someone he couldn’t remember. And if he couldn’t remember someone that meant so much to him, how was he supposed to know what else might be buried in his past? So instead he pulled a knife out and went to strike the man, knowing he had given the man too much time to recover from his previous blows.

But he was met with a feeling of electricity pounding through his head and his metal arm shorting out. He found himself falling to the ground before someone threw a solid knee into the side of his head.

Things were black, but they weren’t cold. And the same part of him that knew that cough, that was telling him to _get Stevie inside, damn it. He’ll die if you don’t make him take care of himself._  was also telling him to be glad for that. To be glad his joints weren’t becoming stiff and slow from the ice.

* * *

Howard had been quick to get Bucky bound and transported to SHIELD, promising Steve they would try to help him remember who he was. Until then, Howard wanted his friend safe, and for him to relax.

“You’re taking the week off, and you’re not going to fight me on this, Rogers.”

“He’s my best friend, I can’t let you just pick him apart!”

“I was friends with him too, or are you forgetting?” Howard smirked. He had prepared for Steve’s hard-headedness and was more than willing to use his son to get the man to decompress after finding out the truth of what happened to his friend all those years ago. “Besides, I already told Tony you two would be spending the week together. Maria’s going to visit her sister and help with the niece, and she doesn’t want Tony going since the baby is frail.”

“That’s cold, Stark.”

“It’s going to work, isn’t it?”

“Using your own son like that…”

“You say that like I’m making him do something he doesn’t want to. He heard you were the one watching him and taking him to school for the next week and he just about burst with how excited he was. I’ve got my best people on it.” He had Chana and Todd’s team. Technically, they weren’t his best. They were still students, and they didn’t output nearly what his second-in-command at Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane, would like. But when it came to something that had to be handled delicately they had found a niche. They could work around various problems with a grace and ease that wasn’t common for their age. All of them had started grad school on the company’s dime, and all were managing straight A’s. It was their dedication that kept them under Howard’s wing, and thus untouchable by Stane.

“What’re you saying?”

“I’m saying that if you give them a few days, they might find out what’s going on with James, and then we can work to fix it. Give them a bit longer, and they’ll get it done.”

“You trust these people?”

“They’re the ones that got you unfrozen safely. They helped get some of my less stable projects off the ground.

“They’re young, but they’re brilliant.” And that was what he loved about the group. All five of them were humble and brilliant, but he saw a spark of drive in Chana and Todd that reminded him of James Barnes, that reminded him of Peggy Carter. They were going to do amazing things, the two of them. And the greatest honor Howard could imagine, besides watching his own son do something incredible, would be to help those two on their way to their futures.

“And Tony’s expecting me to not be going to work for a week?”

“If you tell him you’re not staying you would be breaking his tiny, adorable heart.”

Steve shook his head, but the small smile was enough to tell Howard he had won. “Fine. I’ll take the week. But I want to be updated on what’s going on with Bucky.”

“You’ve got it, Rogers. Now get the hell out of my office and get home. You’ve got a seven year old expecting you to keep him company tonight, and I’ve got your reanimated friend to take care of.”

Steve laughed as he left. It wasn’t going to be easy, but if Howard was anything, it was a pursuer of the impossible. If there was anyone he could trust, it was Howard.

And if there was anyone he would burn the world to keep safe and happy, it was the kid waiting for him at the home he shared with the Starks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howard used a taser on Bucky. I figured he would probably keep some kind of weapon on him, and that something like a taser would probably interfere with that metal arm, at least until someone could 'switch the fuse', so to speak. 
> 
> And yes, Tony is absolutely Howard's greatest weapon when it comes to keeping Steve from hurting himself or others, even emotionally.


	4. Take it Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chana can't say it's not dangerous, but it certainly makes sense to try. 
> 
> Howard realizes that maybe it wouldn't kill him to take some time from the company and focus it on his family.

Chana stared at the man they had on the bed. They had a couple close calls over the last few days of him trying to fight his way out, but with the way his ‘cell’ was designed – though she had made sure someone put furniture and books in that would make it feel less like a high-tech prison cell and more like a sort-of rehab room – he wasn’t getting out.

She could see him through the walls, the set up designed so he saw walls, but she could observe him.

“I’m going to talk to him.”

Todd swerved over to her. The others had gone home for the night, but they hadn’t. Mariah and Jonathan had pulled an all-nighter the night before and was barely conscious as she walked out the door, prompting Chana to call her a cab.

“You’re not doing that. That’s the exact opposite of what you should be doing, in fact. We’re supposed to help get him back to himself, and we can’t do that if he _kills us_.”

“I’ll be fine.” Chana waved a hand at him. “Besides, how can we help him if we don’t talk to him?

“This isn’t like what it was with Mr. Rogers.” The two of them never missed an opportunity to jokingly compare the ever-chivalrous Steve Rogers with the famous Dad-figure of the show, _Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood,_ even when they probably should. “We have to fix what’s in his brain, and we can’t do that if we don’t talk to him.”

“Leave it to you to decide the most dangerous way to do something is the smartest.”

“What can I say, my mother is a force of nature, and I inherited some of it.”

“Yeah, yeah. Tell her I can’t make it to dinner this Friday.”

“Why not?”

“My aunt is coming in from Arizona, and she’s super Catholic so my mom wants me to go to Friday mass with her so she won’t have to go.”

“That sucks. Isn’t afternoon Mass at like, one?”

“Yeah, but then she’s making me go to confession with her.”

Chana pulled a notebook and a mechanical pencil off her desk and set off towards the entrance to the room. “Wish me luck.”

“You’ve got a death wish. No way am I encouraging this."

* * *

He didn’t know who he was, but he had a name from the blonde man.

 _Bucky_.

“Hello, Sergeant Barnes.  My name is Chana Miller, and I’m here to check up on you.”

She had a pencil, and she was short. He could eliminate her quickly if she proved to be a threat. No weapons, and she was soft from desk work. Not a fighter, if he had to guess.

“Barnes?”

“Your name in your file is James Buchanan Barnes.” She passed him a photo. These are photos from before you went missing.”

Clearly he had done more than ‘go missing’, but this girl had been good at avoiding that topic so far. She was intelligent, he had gathered.

Then again, so were the HYDRA doctors.

“What else does that file say?”

“That you lost your arm in a train accident.” Something about that sentence made him flinch. Chana made a note on the legal pad she had in the folder. “And that your best friend in the world is Steven Grant Rogers, the very man that would like nothing more than to be here talking to you and asking these questions himself, no matter what he promised Mr. Stark.

“You had a sister?”

‘Bucky’ drifted through the little bit he could figure out about himself, but all he could get was a vague impression of a brunette with a bright smile, and the lingering feeling of a promise. “I don’t know.”

“That’s perfectly alright.” Chana smiled at him again. Her smile was genuine, and her face was soft. Her whole body was relaxed, even though as far as he knew he was a killer. She was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. Or suicidal. “What do you know about yourself?”

“That I’ve been here several days, and what you’ve told me.”

He didn’t mention the dreams. That always ended things for him poorly, and he wasn’t about to risk the freedom he had right now.

“Alright then. Do you have any questions?”

He had a thousand.

The other him, the one that seemed to scream at the part of him cataloging the exit, the one that had melded back into wall after she walked in, as it cataloged each part of her that would make her go down quicker.

“Who are you?”

“I told you, Chana Miller.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything.”

She smiled at that. “I guess you’re right. I’m a PhD candidate at a local college. I’m the oldest of three siblings, and I’ve worked for Mr. Stark for 7 years.”

“Stark?”

“Howard Stark.”

“Yeah… the name sounds familiar.” ‘Bucky’ scrounged through what he could scrape up in his brain. “Something about a flying car or… hovering, I guess?”

Chana’s eyes brightened. “He displayed a failed prototype at his annual convention back during the war. Mr. Barnes, I do believe we are making progress.”

* * *

Tony knelt behind the couch. He had a new tactic for hide and seek against his uncle, and he was going to win this time, he knew it! He waited until Uncle Steve said “ready or not, here I come” to move to the side of the couch, shadowing Steve from a good few feet so he was always behind something, but never too far from Steve.

Eventually Steve started getting worried about him, not finding him anywhere.

“Tony… You’re not hiding anywhere dangerous are you?”

Tony wanted to giggle, but he wasn’t going to let himself be caught yet.

“Tony?”

He kept following his uncle around, waiting for the perfect time.

Three…

Steve started looking in some of the harder to reach places Tony had hidden before – almost all of them were ones Mom, Steve, or Dad told him not to use again because they were dangerous, but they were fun.

Two…

Steve started looking a little frantic, doing that thing he did where he ran his hand through his hair repeatedly, scratching his scalp.

One…

Steve turned around just as Tony ran and latched onto his legs. “GOTCHA! I was following you around the whole time, Uncle Steve!”

Steve laughed, but it wasn’t his usual laugh. It was a really throaty, breathy laugh. The kind his dad made when something was bugging him and he finally saw the solution.

“Nice work, buddy. Maybe one day you’ll be a spy.”

“You really think, Uncle Steve?”

“Maybe…” Steve got a glint in his eyes that Tony had learnt meant a lot of fun. “ _If_ you can… escape!” And suddenly Steve was tickling him and Tony was laughing. It ended too soon, though when the door opened and Steve was suddenly standing straight, ready to defend Tony at the drop of a hat.

“I’m home!”

“Dad!” Tony sprinted past Steve, not missing how Steve noticeably relaxed when his dad was the one yelling into the home. “You’re home early!”

“What! Nonsense. I’m always home when the sun’s up!”

“That’s funny!”

Tony felt his dad lift him up, the man grunting. “Oh, man. You’re getting big!”

“What are you doing home so early?”

“I wanted to be home as soon as I could, bud. You know I really do try to get home at a normal time like your Uncle Steve, right?”

“Yeah, but you never do. You always come home and I have to go to bed.”

Tony didn’t know it, but his words struck a chord in Howard. He really wanted to be there for Tony, but he kept getting caught at work.

“Tell you what, I promise to be home at a good time at least two nights a week. If I can do it, I’ll make it even more.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Anything for my favorite kid.”

“I’m your only kid.”

Tony may have been seven, but Howard could already see that he had done him a disservice by being so absent.

Steve had disappeared into the kitchen during their short conversation, leading Howard to follow him.

“How was he today?”

“Better than yesterday.”

“You go back tomorrow.”

“It’s going to be nice.” Steve kept his eyes on what he was doing. “What time’s Maria coming in? I can pick her up for you.”

“No, I think I’ll pick her up. I’ll try to get home early tomorrow, too. For Tony.”

Steve smiled at him. “Good idea. The kid misses you when you aren’t here.”

Tony came running into the kitchen after Howard, bringing a game with him. “Can we play Monopoly after dinner?”

Howard nodded at his son, talking with him and Steve as the evening marched on. Maybe slowing down a bit wouldn’t be so bad.


	5. Acknowledging it is the First Step to Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is dealing with problems at school, but he doesn't want his family worrying. 
> 
> Bucky and Steve meet again for the first time, courtesy of Chana.

Tony didn’t want his dad or his uncle to know about the girl at school. She was really mean, but he was hoping she would get sick of him and move on to a different target like the teachers always said a bully did. But it had been months, and he was still putting up with her yanking at his shirt or hair, stealing his pencils, and ripping up his notes. And today, he’d had enough.

“Stop it! Stop it, stop it, stop it!”

The teacher glanced at him, halting her teaching. “Mister Stark, would you care to share with the class?”

He looked at his torn book. “She keeps bothering me, and she tore my book!” He stood up from his chair, glaring at the girl, Emily. “I’m sick of it!”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“I just watched her do it! And she always does this!”

“I didn’t do anything, Ms. Marley. He’s lying.”

“Tony, sit down.” The teacher gave him a look. “We can address this at recess.”

“She’s the liar!”

“Anthony Stark, I don’t care who your father is, if you don’t sit down I will give you a referral.”

Tony glared at his teacher. “I don’t care who my dad is, either! I just want her to stop, and you’re letting her get away with it.”

“It’s your word against hers, Anthony, and you’re the one disrupting class.”

He wanted to scream. She was taking Emily’s side? “If it bugs you so much, why don’t you move me then?”

“Anthony Stark, sit down and stop disrupting class or I will march you down to the office myself!”

Tony scowled at the woman. School was so unfair.

* * *

Chana may have been significantly shorter than Steve Rogers, but damn if he didn’t find her mildly terrifying. She had cornered him in a hallway, grabbed him by the wrist with a grumble about “damned patients” and “stubborn soldiers”.

Steve had been sitting with the young woman for half an hour as she went through document after document.

“You know why I brought you here, yes?”

“No, actually, I don’t.”

“Did Todd not brief you?”

“Todd?”

She picked up one of the Stark-Comms. Howard was working on making it into a portable telephone of sorts, which Steve found incredible. “Rasher, you had one job!”

“I’m not helping you with this!” The voice on the other end was scratchy, but clearer than some of the comms he had seen before. “I told you, I think it’s a bad idea. I don’t think he’s ready, and you’re rushing things.”

“Well I didn’t ask you what you think, I asked you to brief Rogers.” Chana sighed. “I’ll get back at you for it.”

“Really now?”

“Of course I will. I always do.”

The man on the other end groaned. “Just don’t get yourself killed.”

“It’s been six weeks and I haven’t died. I’ll be fine.”  

“I have work to do on that reactor project that Mister Stark wants us looking at. You can handle the soldiers?”

Chana laughed. “Of course I can.”

* * *

Steve looked at Bucky like he was seeing the world for the first time, happy his best friend was nearby once more. Bucky didn’t want to look Steve in the eye, too afraid that he would see the things he had done and judge him for them.

 _“They weren’t your fault. You didn’t want to kill those people.”_ That’s what Chana said. _“You may have done it, but you didn’t make the choice to do it. You were forced to do it, and there is no reason to think that the deaths themselves were your fault.”_

She was practical. She saw that yes, he had been the killer, and something about hearing it had hurt at first. She had been blunt about it, had told him that he had to accept he had killed all those people.

But she had also made sure he understood that she could prove he didn’t know what had happened, could prove the torture he had endured, the torture that had pushed him to the breaking point, to being programmed by HYDRA to do their dirty work. Her general mantra was ‘You did it, but they weren’t your fault. You’re not responsible for them’.

And now Steve was with him, hesitant and barely breathing.

Chana, in all her blunt and forceful glory, looked up from her papers between the two of them. “What the hell? I thought you two were best friends.”

“We were.” Bucky didn’t want to assume.

“Aren’t we?” Steve looked at him.

“Stevie… I’ve done some terrible things. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be associated with me.”

“And it’s fine for me?” Chana whacked his head lightly with a folder. “He’s allowed to make his own decisions, and your file is open access for anyone on the shortlist for the Avengers protocol, which includes the both of you.”

“What do you mean terrible things, Buck?”

Chana became tense. “Captain Rogers, I would recommend you read his file before asking questions. Sergeant Barnes has a habit of taking on too much of the responsibility for his actions without looking too much at the perspective.”

“I want to know. I have a right to know.”

Bucky started fidgeting, a tell Chana had noticed. He was nervous. “I killed people Steve. Innocent people.”

“What?” Steve looked at him. “You mean like you were trying to kill Howard?”

Bucky nodded. This was a bad idea, but if Chana tried to direct Steve in her own direction he would just find a way to ask Bucky himself, with or without her permission.

“Why?”

Chana threw her clipboard on the table. “Because HYDRA is a pest, and they’ve never heard of ethical treatment of prisoners, that’s why. Isn’t that right, Sergeant Barnes?”

“They made me do it.”

“You could have said no!”

Chana was only about five foot, maybe five foot two. She wasn’t very tall, but she was an imposing woman in her own right, and she knew how to use it to her advantage.

“Captain Rogers, at the risk of sounding disrespectful, shut your damn mouth. I told you to read the file, and there was a reason for that. We don’t need to be retraumatizing a victim with invasive questions!”

She grabbed Steve’s arm, managing (to Bucky’s surprise) to keep a hold of it despite his initial attempt to pull free.

“It’s fine, Chana. He has a right to know.”

She stilled, turning to him. “You’re sure you want to talk about this? You’re my patient. It doesn’t matter what his rights are, your wellbeing is my primary concern.”

“Yeah.”

And so Bucky made Steve sit down. He forced himself to retell some of what had happened.

Chana had made him do it before, had made him talk about it so he would acknowledge it had happened. Some part of him had still denied it, though. Had been denying it all along.

But telling Steve, the one man in the world that he had always been able to count on…

That made it real. It had happened. He couldn’t deny it or run away from it anymore.

It felt good.  


	6. Things are Looking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky is getting better, and Steve seems to understand how to help Tony with his bully problem.

Bucky Barnes was left with the distinct impression, sometimes, that Chana had some sort of ulterior motive. It wasn’t until she had just about finished treating him he had brought up the nerve to ask.

“Why were you so insistent on doing this?”

She smiled. “You’re my patient.”

“You’re hiding something. That’s not your only reason.”

She laughed at that. “I guess you’re right. I thought this would be a better approach to your recovery – something more hands-on, that is, something that gave you connections to people and fostered the human side of your mind while you dealt with memories and the realities of what was done to you – and I was right. My best friend didn’t agree, and my mom thought it was the dumbest thing she had ever heard.

“You should come by one day and meet the two of them, now that you’re almost able to leave.”

“You said you guys meet every Friday for dinner?”

“Every Friday for Shabbat.” Chana’s smile became something more mischievous at that. “My mom would lose it if you showed up without warning one day, which is exactly why I don’t want you to warn Todd.”

“Why do you want her to be angry?”

Chana shrugged. “She wouldn’t be angry so much as a bit annoyed and stressed. It’s been a while since I brought anyone new by, anyway, and I think having a surprise one week could be good for her. Ever since Dad died she hasn’t been the same.”

“My condolences, again. It sounds like he was pretty incredible.”

“He was just a scholar. That’s what he always said, anyway.” Chana sighed as she continued marking up a piece of paperwork. “He always thought what I was doing here was the real front for innovation. He would have liked you. He was a psychologist, and he would have thought you a fascinating man with the most puzzling mind.”

“For obvious reasons, I’m guessing.”

Chana’s half-hearted chuckle was worth it. She hadn’t been the same since her father died, either. She had become more withdrawn and reserved. He had met Todd one day when she hadn’t come into work – the day of the funeral. The day after, she still had evidence of crying on her face.

“Well, yes. But also because of the fact that you’re adjusting to the various forms of technology with a surprising ease. After all, the last time you had full control of your mental faculties was in the forties.”

“Where am I supposed to stay after I leave? I don’t think I can exactly go back to my old apartment, after all.”

Chana smiled. “Mister Stark will have you staying with him, his family, and Captain Rogers for the foreseeable future. And if the past is anything to go by, you’ll be a member of the family before you find an apartment.”

* * *

Tony slunk to his room. His mom followed him, but he closed his door before she could get in.

That didn’t stop her.

“Now, young man, I’ve had enough. You’ve been avoiding your father and I for too long. You’ve got some explaining to do.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Well you’re going to.”

If Maria Stark was one thing, it was fastidious. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, especially not from the miniature of her husband that practically screamed in a stubborn desire to keep to himself.

“Ugh.” Tony rolled over. “School sucks, that’s what’s wrong. Happy?”

“Don’t take that tone with me, young man.” Maria stayed in her position leaning against his dresser. “You’re going to tell me exactly why school sucks. I can’t do anything to help if you don’t communicate.”

“I don’t want you to fix it! I don’t want you or dad or Uncle Steve to come in and fix it every time something goes wrong! That’s why she’s being so mean to me, anyway! She thinks I can’t deal with anything on my own.”

“So someone is being mean to you? And this person is a girl in your class?”

Tony grumbled. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Get what you want out of me and Dad, whether we want to tell you or not?”

“It’s a secret power only mothers have. Now, why won’t you let us help?”

“Because when you or Dad say anything to someone at school, they get weird and work really hard to fix the problem.”

“Why is that a bad thing?”

“They don’t do that for the other kids! It isn’t fair!”

“Anthony, we just want what’s best for you.”

He may have been only eight as of a few days prior, but he was too smart for his own good, and it worried Maria constantly.

“What’s best for me isn’t having you constantly fixing everything!” Tony stood up from where he had collapsed on his bed. “I just want you to leave me alone!”

“Anthony Stark!” Maria stood straight, towering over her son. “You will _not_ take that tone with me.”

“Why not? You’re not listening to me, why should I listen to you?”

Maria had enough. She had tried reasoning with him, and that hadn’t worked. “Fine. You won’t be leaving this room except for school and dinner until you tell us what’s wrong and why you don’t want us to help you, and _without the attitude_.”

It hurt to watch her son’s face falter, but Maria wasn’t going to let her son get away with treating those around him with disdain because they didn’t do things his way. Closing the door behind her, Maria walked downstairs.

* * *

Steve and Howard were halted from looking for Tony by Maria within minutes of entering the house.

“Steve, if you could talk to him after dinner, I would appreciate it. You seem to get through to him when Howard and I can’t.”

“Absolutely.”

* * *

Tony trudged down to dinner and was met with a quiet affair. No one was broke the silence much, except to talk about the day.

“Oh, Steve,” his father interrupted the silence with a slight tap of his fork against his plate before pointing it at his uncle. “Bucky will be coming to stay with us in two days.”

“Really?”

Tony looked up from his plate. “Who’s Bucky?”

Maria glanced at her son, keeping an eye on his attitude and temper as the conversation went.

Steve answered calmly, but there was some clear excitement on his face. “He was my best friend growing up. We got into all kinds of trouble from the time we were your age on.”

“Is he cool?”

“He used to think so. He’s a bit different now, but I’m sure he’d love to get to know you. He always had a thing for science.”

Tony’s dad laughed at that. “Don’t I know it! Did you know, after he saw you all fixed up by that serum, he started pestering me with questions about how it worked, and how did it magnify personality _and_ physique.

“He literally said ‘you made the brat more patriotic than the fucking flag. Do you know what you just did? Do you understand?’. Barnes was a right riot, that was for sure.”

“Wait, is he still young-looking like you?”

“Yeah.” Steve glanced at Tony’s dad. The adults were keeping something from him, something Tony was more than determined to find out. “He is.”

Tony finished eating and looked at the adults’ plates. They were still eating, but he knew what his mom was like. The second she saw he had stopped eating, she would send him back to his room.

It was like she was psychic, though, because the second he noticed it, she looked over. “You know the rules, Tony. Go to your room, and you better not be fidgeting with your gadgets while you’re up there.

“I’ll come up later tonight and we’ll see if we can have a better interaction than we did earlier.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

“Come in!”

It was almost his bedtime, he knew that. If his mom came in and saw him doodling in his notebook, not even in his pajamas, his mom would have a fit.

But it was Uncle Steve that walked through the door. It was Uncle Steve, who was always willing to listen and understood things better than his parents did sometimes.

“How was school?”

Tony scowled. “Emily keeps being mean. I even tried ignoring her, like the teachers always say in their bullying talks, but she won’t leave me alone!”

“Some bullies are like that. They won’t stop unless you make them stop.”

“How do you make them stop, though?”

Steve sat at Tony’s desk. “When I was a kid, I was scrawny and short-”

“No way! You’re Captain America!”

Steve smirked. “Remember that serum your dad mentioned at the dinner table?”

Tony nodded.

“Well it fixed a lot of issues I had, besides making me a lot taller and stronger.”

“That’s so cool!”

Steve smiled. “I guess it is, isn’t it?”

Tony nodded. “But what does that have to do with stopping bullies?”

“Well, I always tried to stop them by fighting.” Steve pointed at Tony. “But I was so small they always made it worse on me than it ever would have been for them. That’s where Bucky came in. He didn’t like fighting, but he was always willing to pull me out of one and stick up for me.

“One of my favorite memories is of him strutting up in uniform and kicking a gang of guys out of the alley we were fighting in.”

“So I have to fight them?”

Steve shook his head. “No. You have to find a way to make it not worth their time to pick on you.”

“How do I do that?”

“Well, one way would be making some friends who will have your back. That can be tricky, because some people will say they’ll have your back, but they’ll run at the first sign of trouble. You could also spend more of your time on your hobbies. Instead of playing at recess, you could be working on one of your robots over there, or studying up on all those science books your dad has.

“They might resent you more for it, but if you give yourself something else to focus on, it might be easier to deal with them.”

“But the school classes are so boring and _wrong_. Why should I focus and study for something that’s wrong?”

Steve looked at Tony with determination. “Hmm. That’s a really good question. How about we both think about ways to tolerate the classes and talk about it tomorrow?”

Tony didn’t want to think about it, but if his Uncle thought it would help with his bully problem, then it might be worth it. He sighed and nodded. “Thanks for not offering to get involved.”

Steve seemed taken aback. “Of course. If you wanted help, you know you can ask for it.”

“Yeah, but Mom and Dad always want to get involved and stop it from happening. They just make it worse, though, because then everyone hates me because I’m Howard Stark’s son and they think I can get away with anything.”

“That’s gotta be hard.” Steve sounded genuine, and it was the first time someone actually seemed to _get it_. “If you ever want me to help, I can. But if you want to get this bully to back off, maybe we can come up with something.

“Tell me about her.”

And that was when Tony first encountered the side of Steve Rogers that was mischievous and willing to show a bully at least reason they shouldn’t pick on people.


	7. Who Knew Barnes Was Good With Kids?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky doesn't think it's a good idea, but that kid was all over him. Between the kid and Chana, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Once you add Steve and co to the mix? Well... maybe it feels like a risk, but if they're sure it'll help his recovery... 
> 
> Maybe it's worth a shot.

Tony liked the plan he and Uncle Steve were cooking up. It wouldn’t hurt Emily, but she might think twice before she picked on anyone. Ever since he and Steve had started working on it, his uncle had impressed upon him the importance of not hurting anyone, even if he wanted to. The best way to get back at Emily wouldn’t be through hurting her. Uncle Steve had told him that it was because hurting people was wrong, but a small part of Tony pointed out that if he actually hurt her, he could get in trouble too.

But then he had to actually go through with it, and suddenly he was thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Putting his stuff down like he had originally planned, he felt himself tensing, waiting for Emily’s comment or motion.

She wasn’t there that day. While he was upset, he was suddenly very relieved. He wouldn’t have to go through with his plan. Not for another day, anyway, and that meant he could prepare.

* * *

Bucky looked out the window. The houses were zipping past until they came to a more secluded area. Then there were only a few houses here and there, and before he knew it he was in front of Howard’s house.

He had memorized the route without even trying, a piece of programming that hadn’t left him. Chana had told him not to worry about it, that while it may never go away (it had become akin to an instinct, as far as she could tell, she had told him), it acted as an advantage for him. He would always know where he was.

The house was large, but true to his character, Howard had kept the outside somewhat plain. The landscaping was nicely done, but still modest.

It was something that Bucky had always admired about Howard Stark – the man knew how to balance being noticeably wealthy and still maintain an amicable and approachable person. He was rich, yes, but his friends were normal people. He had learned how to act like the soldiers that surrounded him.

And now he was about to live with the man.

Chana walked him to the door, entering and dismissing the cook. “I’ve got it tonight, Dana.”

“Yes, ma’am, Ms. Chana.”

As the cook left, Bucky turned back to Chana. “So does everyone listen to you, or…?”

“You’ll find that when a woman does something with the confidence of a man people tend to do as you ask.” She set to chopping vegetables. Bucky grabbed a knife of his own and took some of them from her, following her lead.

“What are you making?”

“Just some roasted vegetables and brisket. Tony likes my brisket well enough – I made it for him on his birthday a few years ago. His mom was out of town, his dad had been sucked up by work, and Steve was on a mission, and no one realized he was alone until he came to Stark Industries and found me.”

“He went looking for you?”

Chana’s smile saddened a bit, the spark in her eyes softening to something akin to solemnity. “I used to babysit him when he was younger… Steve – ah, Captain Rogers was going on missions a lot more as he dealt with the modern era, Maria was at school, and Mister Stark was working later and later each night. We got close.”

Bucky nodded, continuing to chop the vegetables until she shooed him away. “You’re going to be meeting Tony in a minute. Spend time with him instead of helping me cook!”

“What? With the kid?”

“If you get nervous, Steve should be home soon, and he’ll run straight to his favorite uncle.”

Bucky nodded, backing away from the counter just as a door opened toward the front of the house.

“Hello?”

“In the kitchen, Tony!”

There was an excited whoop and loud, quick footsteps. “Chana!”

“Hey!” Tony stopped in the door, his eyes wide at seeing Bucky. Bucky tensed, realizing he was probably still something terrifying for a kid to look at.

“Hello.” Bucky nodded at the kid, whose mouth was forming a large ‘o’ of surprise. Before Bucky could even try to halt the situation, the kid was suddenly next to him, pulling Bucky’s left hand towards his face, looking at it with awe.

“DUDE!” Tony started poking at the joints in the metal. Bucky didn’t realize just how much HYDRA had programed the arm to feel until he had Tony poking at his hand. “This is so cool! Chana, look at his arm!”

Chana laughed. “I see it, Tony.”

“But look how cool it is!” Tony looked at him in the eye. “What’s your name, mister?”

“Bucky. Bucky Barnes.” It still felt strange to say it, but it was helping him cope with the new reality of having his memories return and dealing with a new world.

“Like Uncle Steve’s Bucky?” Tony didn’t wait for a response. “So are you a new uncle, then? Uncle Bucky? That sounds a bit funny, though...” Tony kept babbling on before Chana gently pushed their shoulders.

“Alright, boys, into the living room. Steve’ll be home soon, and then the two of you are going to have plenty of space and time to roughhouse and goof off all you want.”

Tony’s smile and intrigue at seeing him was something uplifting. Something so dangerous, something designed to kill, and it brought this eight-year-old joy.

* * *

Steve stood in the doorway of the living room, somewhat stunned to see his best friend playing and goofing off with Tony. Tony was constantly grabbing at Bucky’s metal arm – something that had been a sore spot for him before when Steve had asked.

Tony looked off to the left, jumping when he saw Steve. “Uncle Steve! Look! It’s Bucky!”

“Hey, Buck.”

Bucky was still smiling, even if it was slightly smaller with another adult in the room. “Steve.”

“Come on, play with us! We were wrestling! Bucky was teaching me all about it!” Tony’s eyes were so bright as he talked on and on about how Bucky had shown him how to put someone in a headlock. “His neck is really big, though, so I can’t quite do it.”

“You’ll get there, kid. Don’t worry about it right now.”

Tony continued babbling about it until Chana called from the kitchen, followed by Maria and Howard entering the building. Maria had been visiting with a friend, helping her get her house set up for her own soon-to-be-born child.

“Oh my goodness,” Maria swept past the living room and into the kitchen without paying attention to Bucky, “Chana, you shouldn’t have!”

“You were busy, Mrs. Stark.” Chana smiled from where she had set the table for the family and their two guests. “Besides, I don’t mind at all.”

“Chana, you’re such a dear.” Maria pushed past her and grabbed the things for an extra setting. “But you will be eating with us.”

Chana laughed a bit. “Alright. Let me call my mother.”

“Absolutely.” Maria’s hand cupped Chana’s cheek, and Bucky pretended not to hear the quiet “thank you” that was whispered to her, keeping his eyes and attention firmly toward Tony.

“You weren’t paying attention, were you?”

Steve, as always, being too nosy for his own good. “And what is it to you, runt?”

“Come on, Buck.” Steve pushed his shoulder before Howard came in and told Tony to wash up.

“You two’ll be following him.” Howard laughed. “Otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Steve nodded, guiding Bucky towards another restroom to wash up with him before dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals are over, baby! I'm free!


	8. Sometimes it hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony deals with a bully, and Howard gets to see a moment of peace and contentment in his busy schedule.

Tony really was ready now. Emily had been out for several days, and Bucky had heard about what he and Steve had cooked up. It was meant to embarrass Emily, maybe make her think twice before hurting Tony again.

But Bucky had pulled him aside and given him some tips to make it better and to keep him from getting in trouble for ‘instigating’.

Tony had done as Bucky said, and followed his and Steve’s plan.

Emily sat down next to him, pushing his shoulder roughly to ‘get his attention’.

“Earth to Anthony.”

“What did you need Emily?”

“Give me your book. I want to read it.”

“I can’t. It’s my uncle’s, and he leant it to me.”

“So? You can give it to me, just for the day. Can’t you?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I can’t, though. I promised Uncle Steve I would take care of it.”

The book was Steve’s. It was about drawing, and Tony thought it was really cool. Steve had told him to just keep denying her the book. If she was anything like the bullies he grew up with, she would get more and more frustrated and angry, and end up lashing out in anger in a way that would only make her look bad.

“Well what if I promise to take care of it?”

“Emily, I already told you no. No means no.”

“I want to read your book, Stark. Give it to me.”

The teacher had started to take notice. “Anthony, what’s going on?”

“She keeps telling me to give her the book I’m reading, but I told her no.”

His teacher stood up, sighing like she really had better things to be doing. “Why don’t you share the book, Anthony?”

“Because I promised my Uncle Steve I would take care of it. It’s his book, and I don’t want it getting messed up on accident.”

He had thrown the ‘on accident’ in himself after the talk with Bucky. He wouldn’t be accusing Emily of being reckless, he would just be saying something could happen if people weren’t careful.

“Maybe if your Uncle Steve were so worried, he shouldn’t have sent it with you to school then. Share the book.”

“I promised him, though! I don’t like to break promises, especially not to Uncle Steve! He takes that stuff real serious, and he would be so upset…” Tony made himself look as sad as he could. “Uncle Steve is so nice to me, I don’t want to upset him.”

His teacher looked at the clock. There were ten minutes before class started. “Emily, could you find a different book?”

She scowled. “No. I want to read Tony’s book, and he’s not sharing.”

“Emily…”

Her arms crossed and she tried to stand tall. Tony recognized that stance – she was about to try and get her way no matter the cost. Tony made the wise decision to stash his book in his desk just as she lunged for it, her weight landing on his left arm as she tried to grab at air.

Unfortunately, that meant his arm got pinned roughly against the desk, scraping against the corner as it collapsed inward toward his body.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Tony tried not to cry, but the feeling of his bone scraping against the wooden desk hurt. A lot. His teacher came towards the two of them, pulling Emily away. Within seconds she had Emily in her seat and pulled Tony’s arm towards her, checking to see if it was bleeding.

“Anthony,” she wouldn’t let him look at it, but he could feel the cold spots. He had skinned something, at the very least. “Do you want to go to the nurse?”

Tony thought about it, looking at the book. It was Steve’s, and he had actually promised to keep it safe on this ‘mission’.

“You can take your book with you, if you’re worried about it.”

Tony nodded. Ms. Mason helped him up, walked him to the back of the class, and asked him to sit down a moment.

“I’m going to walk you down there, and I’m going to take Emily to the office while I do it. I just need to call someone in to come watch the others, alright?”

Tony nodded. His body was slowing down after the rush it had felt in the moment, and his arm was beginning to hurt even more.

Ms. Mason walked over to Emily, making her stand up and follow the two of them down to the office as a teacher from down the hall walked in to monitor the class. Ms. Mason had Tony sit outside the office while she took Emily inside, explaining quickly to the secretary what was going on before she came back out.

“Anthony, the Nurse’s Office is right there.” She pointed to a room with an open door and a poster of the muscular system on the door. He recognized it from one of his dad’s projects he brought home and explained to Tony. “I have to get back to class, but you can go in there, and Ms. Bethen will take care of you, alright?”

Tony nodded.

“The secretary said the principal may ask you for your side of the story after she’s done talking to Emily. Are you going to be okay with that?”

Again, Tony nodded. He clutched the book tight to his chest, walking towards the Nurse’s Office as Ms. Mason walked towards the classroom. He had gotten what he wanted, Emily might think twice now before causing any trouble.

But he had been hurt in the process, and now he had to explain what happened to his parents, who might try to make it a bigger issue than it needed to be. He had handled it himself, though, and he was pretty proud of that.

* * *

Howard bustled in the door half an hour after dinner ended with an apology before he noticed something was wrong. Tony wasn’t acting like he was hurt, but there was a bandage wrapped around his arm.

“What happened?”

“I skinned my arm at school, and the one part was really deep, so Ms. Bethen told me to keep it covered for the rest of the day and tomorrow.”

“How?”

Tony didn’t answer, but Maria was in the room, a worried glance aimed at Tony before she pulled Howard’s coat off and dragged him inside for tea. “We’ll talk later.”

That was all Howard needed to hear before he let his son enjoy the evening, hanging onto Bucky the entire time while Steve sketched from his position near them on the floor. The next day, there would be a neatened drawing of Tony, eyes alight with excitement, and Bucky, who was staring at Tony with something between awe and protective, fierce care while he soaked in Tony’s excitement left on the table for Howard and Maria. A silent gesture between friends.  A thank you for things past and present.

Howard would cherish that memory, seeing his son so happy and his two best friends content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday, Tony Stark! I did my best to get this out before the day ended in my time zone, and I was successful! 
> 
> I didn't want Tony's success to come without a cost. In my experience, dealing with a bully causes some pain for someone. A lot of times, it's for the kid doing the standing. So, he got hurt, but he learned that he can stand against someone who's being mean. Bucky may only have stayed with the Starks for about a week at this point, but he would die for Tony, because he's one of the few that treats him (and all his baggage) like he's completely normal. If we're being real, they are at the beginning of a point where they're going to think the world of each other.


	9. The Beginning of the End of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is twelve. He is in middle school, and he can't say he particularly enjoys it. He's in the public eye all the time, his classes are boring, and he can't stand the librarian, even though he loves the library. 
> 
> He would do anything to get out as soon as possible. And maybe that's an option now.

He was twelve, and he knew he was young, but he didn’t deserve this, dang it! He had done his best to make his idea work, but he didn’t want his dad finding out. If his dad found out, he’d say it was too dangerous and tell Tony to stop.

But now Bucky knew. He was looking at Tony’s math and the things he had pulled out from their hiding place and nodding. “I don’t understand any of this. Want to explain it to me?”

Tony’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding? You’re not going to tell Dad?”

Bucky shrugged. “You let me handle the dangerous stuff, so long as it’s not something super delicate, and make sure someone’s here and nah. I won’t tell him.”

“You want to help me with it?”

“I mean, you’ll have to explain stuff to me, but yeah. Better you have help than you do it all yourself and get hurt.”

Tony smiled, big and broad, and got to work, explaining exactly what he had to for Bucky before showing him what he wanted to get done that night. At the end of the night, they locked it back away in its hiding spot, not a word being spoken to the other family members about it.

(And if Howard knew about the two of them working in his lab? Well, he was proud of his son for taking some initiative.)

* * *

Steve knew Bucky was up to something the minute Tony started giggling at the dinner table, excusing himself just after his father had left (an emergency at the office) and his mother had gone into the kitchen for a moment.

So when his best friend stood up, moved towards him, and then stared long and hard, Steve was unnerved. “You alright, Buck?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. Whatever happened that he didn’t talk about, he was exceptional when it came to playing mind games. “Yeah, why?”

There was a small creak under the table. Steve moved to look when Bucky’s metal hand flicked his ear. “What was that for!?”

Bucky smirked. “That’s for being an idiot and crashing into the Arctic. And you thought I took all the stupid with me…”

“That was back in the forties!”

“And neither of us was exactly around to talk about it.”

Steve moved to stand, to ‘get back’ at Bucky, though they both knew it wasn’t serious.

And he tripped. Or fell, really. Face first, into t

* * *

he floor. His left ankle was tied to the table, and Tony was sitting underneath, laughing as he watched Steve glare at the rope around his ankle.

“You two were in cahoots!”

Tony laughed harder as Steve moved to get the rope off, backing out from under the table and running around to stand behind Bucky. By the time Steve had gotten up, Tony and Bucky were nowhere to be seen.

“I’m going to find you two!”

Tonight was going to be fun.

* * *

There was a lot to be said for growing up, but Tony hadn’t expected the public eye to become so pervasive in his life. He didn’t tell his dad, or his uncles, or his mom, even though he promised he would, but he was dying. There were some days people were waiting outside his school (and hadn’t convincing his dad to let him go to public school been a terrible idea in retrospect? It made it so much easier for them.) or at his soccer practice.

He stopped playing in seventh grade. It wasn’t worth being photographed all the time or seeing speculative articles about him on tabloids at grocery stores.

When the lunch bell rang, he ducked into the library. The librarian was a middle-aged man, and he gave Tony the creeps. He avoided the man, and usually snuck into the back of the library to read some of the books he had grabbed out of his dad’s collection or to read one of Bucky’s books. His dad had cool books about engineering and technology, but Bucky had even cooler books. Bucky’s books were about politics and history, and even some of the fictional ones were super interesting.

Tony liked Steve’s books, too, but looking at art and drawing books in class was considered ‘rude’ and ‘not educational’.

His choice for today was one of Bucky’s books about revolutions. It discussed the ramifications of overthrowing leaders, and it was intriguing to say the least. He was quickly immersed in it, knowing the bell would tear him from the book all too soon.

Instead, it was a hand that ripped him out of his book. It was the librarian. “Mr. Stark. What’s that you’ve got there?”

Tony glanced at the clock – ten minutes left in lunch. He could get away from Mr. Alan if he gave it a second. “It’s my uncle’s. It’s about history.”

“Oh, well can I see it?”

Tony got up, grabbing his bag. “Actually, I’m supposed to meet my next teacher just before class.” Tony skirted around Mr. Alan, dodging an attempt to place a hand on his shoulder. “See you some other time, Mr. Alan.”

There were skeletons in that man’s closet, he was sure. He wasn’t going to be going back to the library for a while. Instead, he would see if Ms. Cleftinson would be alright with him hanging out in the computer lab instead.

Looking over his shoulder, Tony bolted as soon as the door to the library closed.

* * *

When he got home, there was a pile of papers on his seat at the table, and it was labeled important. Opening it, he found an offer to skip several grades. To be in high school. He just had to pass a test. That sounded pretty damn good to him. He couldn’t wait to talk more to his dad about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be about Tony discussing skipping grades with his parents and then preparing for the test.


End file.
